Pack with easy-access pocket

ABSTRACT

A pack for wearing on a person&#39;s back, comprising a front facing outwardly when the pack is worn and a pocket attached to and extending at least partially across the front of the pack. The pocket overlies generally the small of the person&#39;s back when the pack is worn, and includes an open entrance defined by an upper edge oriented for readily being located by touch when the person reaches behind their back, thereby guiding and facilitating access into the pocket. The pocket preferably includes an upwardly extending pocket flap that provides the upper edge of the pocket.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to packs and, more specifically, to apack-mounted pocket with an opening that provides a person with easyaccess to the contents of the pocket while the pack is on the person'sback.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Packs, including packs with pockets, are well known. So are waterbottles, canteens, bota bags, and other liquid-holding containers oftenused in association with packs and the types of physical activities forwhich packs are intended. In 1988, packs and water bottles were combinedin an invention that developed into a highly successful product known asthe CAMELBAK® hydration system. Specifically, through the use of aunique mouth-activated valve described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,349, awater bottle could be placed in a small, thin pack while allowing aperson wearing the pack on their back to drink from the water bottle atwill. The bottle was in the form of a thin, streamlined, flexiblereservoir, and was carried in a sleek back-mounted pack.

Many people wear or carry a pack primarily to carry water whileparticipating in an activity. With conventional water bottles, aneffective pack is often quite bulky. Thus, packs incorporating areservoir-style water bottle offered a dramatic change from previousstyle packs. These reservoir-receiving packs are used in virtually everytype of outdoor activity, and some indoor activities. For example,reservoir-receiving packs are used for biking, hiking, windsurfing,kayaking, horseback-riding, skating, and even military maneuvers.

Despite the long existence of packs, including several years' existenceof reservoir-receiving packs, no known pack has incorporated a featurethat allows a person wearing the pack on their back easy access tonon-liquid contents of the pack. For example, a person may want to reachfood, tools, a map, compass, first aid kit, or other things withoutstopping to remove the pack. This is particularly the case incompetitive activities such as mountain bike racing. Accordingly, thereis a great need for a pack with an easy-access pocket or compartment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention incorporates and is designed for areservoir-receiving pack, but should work equally well in larger, morebulky, conventional packs which are worn on the back. It includes apocket attached to and extending at least partially across the front ofa pack (the portion of a pack facing away from a person wearing thepack) with an open entrance for the pocket defined by an upper edge. Theupper edge is oriented for being located readily by touch when a personwearing the pack reaches behind their back, thereby guiding the person'shand into the pocket. The upper edge serves as a "touch point" providinga guide to the entrance of the pocket.

Preferably, the pocket includes an upwardly extending pocket flap, andthe open entrance includes a pair of oppositely facing openings definedby the edges of the pocket flap. Furthermore, a top flap preferably isattached to the pack adjacent a top of the pack and extends downwardlytoward the pocket flap. The top flap then is connected operatively tothe pocket flap, preferably by a flap strap and buckle. Thisinterconnection maintains the top flap in a closed position whilesimultaneously maintaining the pocket flap in an upwardly orientedarticle-retaining position.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a pack thatincorporates an easy-access pocket. It is a further object of thepresent invention to provide such a pack with a pocket that includes apair of oppositely facing openings so that easy access is available fromboth sides of the pack. In this manner, a person wearing the pack mayaccess the pocket with either their left or right hand. Additionalobjects and advantages of the present invention will be understood morereadily after a consideration of the drawings and the DetailedDescription of the Preferred Embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the preferred embodiment of the pack ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the pack of FIG. 1 being worn on aperson's back, with the person reaching their left hand into the pocketto access an item., shown on a smaller scale than in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top cross-sectional view of the pack shown in FIG. 1, takenalong line 3--3 in FIG. 1, shown on the same scale as in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but with thepocket expanded to hold various articles, and the articles shown indashed lines.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the pack shown in FIG. 1, with a portion ofthe top flap cut away to show an open top and storage compartment.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the pack shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a left side elevation of the pack shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of a portion of an alternative embodiment,showing the pocket attached to a pack, but without the top flap or flapstrap shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 7.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment, showing apocket similar to the pocket shown in FIG. 8 mounted on a fanny pack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In FIG. 1, a pack according to the preferred embodiment is indicatedgenerally at 10 and further details of pack 10 also are shown in FIGS.2-7, including a storage compartment 12 (see FIG. 5) defined by front 14and a rear 16. Front 14 also forms an outer surface 14 of pack 10. Front14 and rear 16 together define an open top 18 (see FIG. 5) of storagecompartment 12. Preferably, a top flap 20 is attached to rear 16adjacent open top 18. Top flap 20 may be extended over open top 18 tooverlap at least a portion of front 14, thereby closing open top 18.

A pocket 22 is formed on outer surface 14 by pocket front 24, preferablymade of mesh sheet material. Pocket front 24 is preferably pleated, withpleats indicated in FIG. 3 at 24a. Pocket front 24 includes a main body26 and preferably an upwardly extending pocket flap 28.

Pocket flap 28 in turn includes one or more edges 30 that form upperedges or guides for pocket 22. Edges 30 are preferably constructed fromelastic edging 30a wrapped around the perimeter of pocket flap 28. Edges30 define an open entrance to pocket 22, preferably in the form ofoppositely facing, sloped openings 32a and 32b, as shown best in FIG. 1.

In the preferred embodiment, pocket flap 28 is tapered so that edges 30define an angle of taper 34, with edges 30 approximately converging toform a single apex 36. Angle of taper 34 may vary generally from40-degrees to 140-degrees. A preferred measure of angle of taper 34 isapproximately 100-degrees. As shown in FIG. 1, the slope of edge 30,indicated as angle 35, relative to the vertical, is about 50-degrees.However, a range of 20-degrees to 70-degrees has been found suitable forguiding a person's hand into pocket 22.

Instead of defining an apex 36, edges 30 may converge without meeting atan apex, or edges 30 may be parallel to define vertical openings.Neither of these options is shown in the drawings, as they arerelatively self-explanatory. For reference, a point 38 indicates thepoint where pocket flap 28 is attached to storage compartment 12, andwidth 40 indicates the width of pocket flap 28 at point 38.

In FIGS. 1, 2, 5 and 7, a flap strap 42 incorporating a releasablebuckle 44 is shown interconnecting top flap 20 and pocket flap 28. In analternative embodiment of the pack, indicated at 110 in FIG. 8, the topflap, flap strap and buckle of the preferred embodiment are omitted.Apex 136 of pocket flap 128 is attached directly to outer surface 114.Furthermore, elastic edging 130a is extended beyond pocket flap 128 andformed into a loop 136a adjacent apex 136. Loop 136a may be used forattaching keys, cord, or various other accessories to pack 110.

As shown in FIG. 1, a strap 46, and preferably two straps 46 in the formof a pair of shoulder straps, allows pack 10 to be worn easily by aperson. In yet another alternative embodiment, shown in FIG. 9 as pack210, strap 246 is a hip belt, and pack 210 is in the shape of a fannypack. Pocket 222 is configured similar to pockets 22 and 122 shown inFIGS. 1-8, providing the same easy access as in the embodiments of FIGS.1-8. Loop 236a is a rigid ring, thus differing somewhat from elasticloop 136a shown in FIG. 8.

A liquid-holding reservoir is indicated at 48 in FIGS. 3 and 4, with atube 50 and attached mouth-activated valve 52 (FIGS. 1 and 5-7) to allowa person to drink liquid from reservoir 48. A person is indicated at 54in FIG. 2, with the person's back 56, small of the back 58, and hands 60being labeled accordingly. In FIGS. 2 and 4, articles held in pocket 22are indicated at 62.

The arrangement of flexible pocket 22 of the present invention hasseveral important advantages. First, the open entrance 32 defined byedges 30, arranged at a slope in the range of 50-degrees, provides a"touch point," or a readily locatable edge 30 that a person can touch orfeel when reaching behind their back. Edge 30 serves to guide the hand,thereby facilitating access to the interior of pocket 22 and thecontents of pocket 22. Additionally, by providing edges 30 slopedoppositely to one another, in the triangular form as shown in FIG. 1, aperson easily can use their right or left hand to access the pocket 22from either side of pack 10.

Sloped edges 30 provide ready access by one hand reaching behind theback, a very important advantage when one is riding a bicycle. In ridinga bicycle, it is important to keep one hand on the handlebars. Now, withthe present invention, the other hand can be used to access pocket 22 onpack 10.

While the present invention has been shown and described by reference tothe preferred embodiment and selected alternative embodiments, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that other changes in form anddetail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scopeof the inventions defined in the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A pack for wearing on a person's back, comprising:a frontfacing outwardly when the pack is worn; a pocket attached to andextending at least partially across the front of the pack for overlyinggenerally the small of the person's back when the pack is worn, thepocket including an open entrance defined by an upper edge oriented forreadily being located by touch when the person reaches behind theirback, thereby guiding and facilitating access into the pocket, and thepocket including an upwardly extending pocket flap that provides theupper edge of the pocket; a storage compartment defined by the front anda rear, the compartment including an open top; and a top flap attachedto the rear of the storage compartment adjacent the open top, extendablefrom the rear to the front of the compartment to close at leastpartially the compartment and overlap at least a portion of the front ofthe compartment, and operatively connected to the pocket flap so thatthe top flap is maintained in a closed position overlapping the front ofthe compartment while the pocket flap is maintained simultaneously in anupwardly oriented article-retaining position.
 2. The pack according toclaim 1, further comprising a flap strap interconnecting the top flap tothe pocket flap.
 3. The pack according to claim 2, wherein the flapstrap includes a releasable buckle interposed the top flap and thepocket flap.
 4. The pack according to claim 1, wherein the edge of thepocket is elastic.
 5. A pack for wearing by a human, comprising:an outersurface oriented to be approximately parallel to a person's back whenthe pack is worn by the person; a pocket attached to and extending atleast partially across the outer surface, the pocket including anupwardly extending pocket flap with edges that define oppositely facingopenings; a storage compartment defined by a front and a rear, thecompartment including an open top, and the front of the compartmentforming the outer surface of the pack; and a top flap attached to therear of the storage compartment adjacent the open top, extendable fromthe rear to the front of the compartment to close at least partially thecompartment and overlap at least a portion of the front of thecompartment, and operatively connected to the pocket flap so that thetop flap is maintained in a closed position overlapping the front of thecompartment while the pocket flap is maintained simultaneously in anupwardly oriented article-retaining position.
 6. The pack according toclaim 5, further comprising a flap strap interconnecting the top flap tothe pocket flap.
 7. The pack according to claim 6, wherein the flapstrap includes a releasable buckle interposed the top flap and thepocket flap.
 8. The pack according to claim 5, wherein the edges of thepocket flap are elastic.
 9. The pack according to claim 5, wherein thepocket flap tapers inwardly from a width that approximately conforms tothe outer surface at a point where the pocket flap is attached to theouter surface.
 10. The pack according to claim 5, wherein the edges ofthe pocket flap define an angle of taper.
 11. The pack according toclaim 10, wherein the angle of taper ranges from approximately40-degrees to 140-degrees.
 12. The pack according to claim 10, whereinthe edges of the pocket approximately converge to an apex.